Sussex Exclusive Magazine Issue 6 2023

The Loyal Address
To Queen Elizabeth II and King
Charles III
Christ’s Hospital Student Delivers Loyal Address
to His Majesty King Charles III
Christ's Hospital is extraordinary
in many ways. But perhaps
none more so than with
their tradition of the Loyal
Address, whereby the most
senior student addresses a new monarch.
From Queen Mary and Queen
Elizabeth I
In 1553, when Christ’s Hospital student
Edmund Campion was just 13 and the
school was barely a year old, Edmund was
chosen to present an address at Aldgate
to the future Queen Mary as she was
escorted by the Lord Mayor into the City
of London on her way to the Tower of
London for her coronation.
Queen Mary was not a fan of the school
and ignored the boy, but the idea of the
Loyal Address had been formed.
In the centuries since, there has been a Loyal
Address by a student of Christ’s Hospital
to almost every new monarch. More often
written down rather than spoken, the address
is given during the first official royal visit
to, or through, the City of London, where a
monarch asks the Lord Mayor for permission
to enter the City.
Sometimes the address has been given the day
before a coronation such as with Elizabeth I,
who received her greeting in January 1559,
or after, as was the case with James I whose
visit to the City was postponed due to the
plague. And our last King Charles, Charles
II, accepted an address at the churchyard
of St Paul’s Cathedral on the eve of his
coronation at Westminster Abbey.
It’s been 70 years since Queen Elizabeth
II received the Loyal Address on 9th
June 1953 delivered by Senior Grecian
Barrie Johnston in a written scroll on the
steps of St Paul’s Cathedral a week after
Queen Elizabeth II had been crowned.
But on 18 October 2023, at Mansion
House, this fantastic tradition saw His
Majesty King Charles III receive the
Loyal Address from Senior Grecian
and head student of Christ’s Hospital,
Zaphaneth Puplampu.
King Charles and Queen Camilla were
attending a dinner in their honour at
Mansion House, held by the City of
London. Zaphaneth Puplampu had the
privilege of delivering the Loyal Address
to the Royal party by way of a speech,
before approaching the King’s table to
present him with the written version.
Zaphaneth said of the experience: ‘I
am incredibly honoured to have had
the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
of addressing the King at Mansion
House. The whole event was surreal; I
was surrounded by great people in an
amazing setting, and I’m very grateful to
have done it on behalf of the students of
Christ’s Hospital!’
Christ’s Hospital was established in 1552
by King Edward VI and is the UK’s
leading charitable school and largest
bursary charity. It actively seeks students
of potential, who often come from
varied and complex backgrounds and
provides free or substantially reduced
cost places to ensure that children have
access to first-class education no matter
their background
www.christs-hospital.org.uk
Charles II,
accepted an
address at the
churchyard
of St Paul’s
Cathedral on
the eve of his
coronation at
Westminster
Abbey.
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